Architectural Lighting Design, Design with Light Fixtures

Architecture has always been considered one of the world's great arts, but one aspect of residential architectural design that historically has been slightly neglected is lighting design. Many architects have neglected to give lighting its full due, over the centuries, but in recent decades this has begun to change. Beginning in 1969, with the founding of the International Association of Lighting Designers, lighting design began to gain respect as a field of endeavor. Architectural lighting design has only garnered more and more attention over the years, and between the IALD and the boom in shelter magazines, more people are paying serious attention to the importance and value of lighting design.

The Concepts Behind Lighting Design

There are two premises maintained by an architectural lighting designer when considering how to illuminate spaces and rooms. The first is the aesthetic appeal of a given building; this is particularly important in, for example, a lighting program being designed for a retail space, which must appeal to a wide range of future users. The second premise that is always kept in mind is the ergonomic facet of the design, which means establishing a measurement of how the lighting functions within the given space.

A lighting designer keeps these notions firmly in place when considering how to illuminate an area. The original architectural design must be flattered by the lighting plan. A designer may feel that a space needs a subtle lighting plan which is not going to overwhelm the users of the space; conversely, a designer may sense that a bold, visually "loud" lighting plan is called for to liven up a space. The designer considers the options and their various virtues or drawbacks. The idea is to create a lighting system that works but also evokes certain emotional responses from the users. Obviously the lighting is necessary to provide basic illumination of the room, but it's also necessary to inspire certain feelings. The selection of light fixtures is important. Matters such as safety, practicality, and how natural light works with or against the lighting design are also taken into consideration.

Architectural lighting design is a wonderful hybrid of art and science. It requires an understanding of architecture and art history, but it also requires an understanding of physics. The best architectural lighting designers are not only creative people who can let ideas and images flow around them, but they are organized, scientifically-minded people who can see how scientific principles guide successful design projects.

The media often present images of architects and the field of architecture and they are presented as fashionable, if not downright sexy; architectural lighting design, by contrast, is all but ignored. One hears little about lighting design on television or radio, though architectural lighting affects all of us every day; the architectural press also pays little attention to lighting design. However, a small number of magazines are devoted solely to the subject of architectural lighting design; there are also websites where these matters are discussed at length to the benefit of all. The best known of these sites and magazines is Professional Lighting Design.